Pipe wrapping machines have heretofore been provided which are adapted to wrap various types of protective material about pipes either before shipment or in the field before or after placement. Some such pipe wrapping machines which heretofore have been used in the field have been of great bulk and weight and in certain cases have required propulsion by some appropriate power means. For the purpose of avoiding the necessity for using pipe wrapping machines of great bulk and weight it has been heretofore proposed to employ a pipe wrapping machine which may be readily handled and which may be placed in position in relation to a pipe manually. Two such portable and manually operable pipe wrapping machines are disclosed in the Stuart, Jr. et al U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,470,057 and 3,547,731. The portable pipe wrapping machines disclosed in these patents are characterized by a pipe enveloping frame having a pipe receiving mouth, locking means mounted on the frame for disposition across the pipe receiving mouth so as to retain a pipe within the frame and means mounted on the frame for rotatably supporting the frame concentrically with the pipe held within the frame. The pipe wrapping machines disclosed in these patents enable the operator to apply to a pipe a wrapping material of the type which requires the application of heat in order to make it adhere to the pipe surface and provide an effective protection against moisture and other corrosive influences contained in soil. For example, the wrapping material used in the pipe wrapping machines of the type referred to may be an asphalt-impregnated or tar-impregnated asbestos felt and an inner layer of glass fiber embedded in a material such as thermoplastic tar or asphalt which is sufficiently thermoplastic so as to be rendered adhesive by application of heat. Until the surface layer is rendered thermoplastic by the application of heat it is so lacking in adhesiveness that a strip of the wrapping material may be formed into a roll from which the wrapping material is fed for application to the surface of the pipe on which the pipe wrapping machine has been positioned. Because the surface layer is not thermoplastic or tacky until heated it is not necessary to employ a separator sheet between the plies of the wrapping material in the roll that is used in the machine. The machine of each of the patents includes means whereby sufficient heat may be applied to the strip of wrapping material to render the surface to be contacted with the pipe sufficiently thermoplastic and tacky to enable proper adhesion.